MANDYA: Engaged in de-weeding work in his paddy field on the outskirts of Maddur, 38-year-old Shankar is not a happy man despite Cauvery water flowing in the canal after long spells of drought. The young farmer has remained aloof to the bypoll campaign and the aggressive vote hunt of the leaders as the disappointment over delay in getting the benefit of farm loan waiver is eroding his interest in electoral politics.
Eight kilometres away in Gejjalegere village, the mood is no different as November 3 polling date is approaching in the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency. The sugar and rice bowl of the state which gave a thumping mandate to H D Kumaraswamy by ensuring JD(S) victory in all the eight Assembly segments of the Lok Sabha constituency in the recent Assembly election is losing patience over the delivery of promises made by the Chief Minister.
“Even five months after coming to power, the promised farm loan waiver has not been delivered. We have been making frequent visits to co-operative societies and banks only to be told that they are yet to receive funds from the government. Many co-operative societies are yet to even receive our applications for loan waiver,” said Shivanna, a farmer of Gejjalagere.
Maheshwarappa, another farmer, is angry over the menace of middlemen in getting the farm loan waiver benefit and the “harassment” by officials of the co-operative societies and banks in processing the applications by seeking various documents. “The slew of conditions imposed by the government to avail the loan waiver has rendered a huge segment of farmers ineligible,” Maheshwarappa said.
The steep rise in price of fertilisers has escalated the cost of farming. “The price of DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) has been raised from `1,150 to `1,350 per 50kg bag. It is time the government raised the fertiliser subsidy,” demands Madaiah, a farmer in Srirangapatna taluk.
The steep fall in price of silk cocoons and failure of sugar factories in the district to clear the cane supply dues to farmers has hit thousands of farmers. According to sugar cane growers Somashekar Gowda, Madesha and many more in Pandavapura, sugar factories have not paid the cane dues for the past three to four months. “Sugar factories owe about `50,000 to `10 lakh to each sugarcane farmer. We are in deep distress,” a farmer said.
The sick MySugar factory, established by legendary statesman Sir M Visvesvaraya, has stopped crushing sugarcane, putting thousands of growers in trouble.Failure of the government to issue health cards in rural areas and lack of alternative employment opportunities are among the issues the voters want addressed.
JD(S), which had swept all the eight Assembly constituencies of the Lok Sabha seat in the recent Assembly election, has fielded L R Shivarame Gowda with Congress extending its support as per the coalition pact. Dr Siddaramaiah, a retired IRS officer, the BJP candidate, is a new face in politics.
Former CM Siddaramaiah has completed one round of campaigning in favour of Shivarame Gowda and Chief Minister Kumaraswamy and his father H D Deve Gowda are set to scorch Mandya with high voltage campaign in the next few days.
Though local Congress leaders and cadres are reluctant to join hands with JD(S), the rift is unlikely to have much of an impact on the outcome of the poll battle as the BJP is handicapped by lack of strong organisational base. The party could have given a tough fight if it had fielded a strong leader or a fresh face with star value in any domain is the common view of those who want a change in Mandya politics.
Enthused by the alliance with Congress, Shivarame Gowda is bullish about his chances. “I will be elected with a thumping majority as I will reap the goodwill generated by Kumaraswamy’s pro-farmer programmes,” he said.BJP candidate Siddaramaiah is hoping to ride on the pro-Modi sentiment and those who are opposing the Congress-JD(S) alliance.